Local leaders in Darrington bowed their heads and observed a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. Saturday, exactly one week after the deadly mudslide wreaked havoc in nearby Oso.
Search and rescue workers, firefighters and other first responders marked the moment in front of Darrington's fire station, standing in steady rain that continues to hamper rescue efforts at the site of the slide 12 miles down the road.
"We're all so busy doing what we can and feeling that we're not doing enough," Darrington Mayor Dan Rankin said. "Fifteen, 20, 30 seconds, for a lot of us, is all the rest that we're going to get. To remember in those 15 to 30 seconds what is important to our lives in our community... it's very important for us to reflect."
Rev. Michael De Luca, the pastor of Darrington's First Baptist Church, delivered an invocation during the brief ceremony. He read from Psalm 23, a biblical passage that says God "restoreth my soul."
"I think we all need our soul to be restored, and so we pray for that for each of the many that have been out there on the firing line," De Luca said.
At least 17 people died in the mudslide. Dozens more are missing.
